Psychology
by Tenebras Lux
Summary: A reflection by a Ninetales on what is lost and gone.


Humans are assholes. Every single one of them. Acting. Always

Always.

Easy to understand. Easy to manipulate.

Easy to use.

In my lifetime, I've seen all of them. All the kinds there are.

The ones who act weak. The ones who act kind. The ones who act strong. The ones who act nasty.

They're all acts, just acts, and nothing more. All designed for an ulterior motive.

All carefully designed to invoke the desired response.

To get what they want.

Greedy. All of them.

Nothing more.

Shame doesn't even matter for some of them.

They'll get what they want.

They'll do whatever to get what they want.

Betrayal. It hurts so much.

I was betrayed. Betrayed by someone I trusted. Of course; that's the definition of betrayal – a breach of trust.

Two tail flick forwards - a single full tail, with all its glory, and a pathetic stump. I am a Ninetales, with only a tail and a half.

I ran that day, I remember. I tried so hard to get away, but in my time of distress, I was outsmarted. Outsmarted by mere humans. They overpowered me with drugs and technology. With intelligence: the only redeeming features they truly have.

They mercilessly cut off seven of my tails, spilling blood. I assume they were going to take all of them, if it hadn't been for the Ursaring. Yes, that hideous bear which tore through the humans, aiming for me. He broke through the cage, lunging for me. I ran from it. I ran from the bear.

It grabbed one of my two remaining tails, neatly slicing off a third. I yowled in pain, cursing it. It and the humans. I was running; falling. Always falling.

I don't remember what happened after. You can't blame me for that. I do know that I miraculously survived. I survived the humans, the bear, the fall, and the blood loss. I was alive.

I was alive and rotting, rotting where my tails had been. Rotting where _parts_ of my tail had been. Rotting, but alive.

The tails flick subconsciously, mechanically. The ends are covered with smooth, silken fur. Tender, perhaps, but definitely no longer rotting.

The wounds were treated, eventually. By a little girl, actually. She was weak, definitely. But perhaps only physically.

She displayed kindness, and through that kindness, a kind of strength. A strange kind of strength. She refused to give up me. She was determined to save me from certain death.

She became my benefactor, in a way. But also my tormentor. She chased death away, the same certain death I had grown to welcome.

She wanted to befriend me, but only because I was the target of any human's dreams. A Ninetales. A creature which would bring great fortune.

She wanted me because of the powers I possessed, and nothing else. Humans were selfish, greedy creatures who cared only for themselves. She only took care of me so that I would live and be used by her.

She did care for me, though. Physically. She tended to my wounds; healed me. She fed me quite well. She gave me a nice place to rest. She gave me a home.

But a set home is not what a Ninetales needs. I needed to roam the earth, to run to where my heart desired. I needed not her care, nor her attention. No. I _wanted_ not her care, nor her attention. Not if it's a forced act by a selfish human. Ever.

I pat the twigs on the ground, snuffing out the last embers. The last glow fades; the fire dies. It is gone now. The grand forest which once stood there, gone. My _home_… gone.

For miles, a vast expanse extended. Nothing but ash stood: a small breeze was more than enough to knock over the remnants of a large tree. The ash of the trees. Of the plants. Of the woodland animals which had perhaps failed to run. Of the girl.

And soon, not even an ash tree remains. I wonder how far I can see, with a Ninetales' vision, but my eyes fail me. My vision becomes increasingly blurred, and I blink my eyes attempting to clear them. I notice specks of green scattered on the floor; a colour I had thought extinct.

I am free now, from the hold of that girl. I am free to roam the lands to my heart's content.

But it seems, now, that I have learned too late.

I have learned of my heart's desire too late.

I realize, now, and only now, that I had desired to stay here.

I think that humans are intelligent in that they are technologically advanced, but stupid in every other aspect.

But I realize that Pokémon are also stupid.

I think that humans are greedy.

But I realize that Pokémon are also greedy.

I think that betrayal hurts.

It hurts when you realized that you have been betrayed by someone you trust.

But I also realize…

That it hurts when you are betraying someone who trusts you.

* * *

A/N: Tell me what you think of this! It's free for reader interpretation. There's no general right or wrong answer: what you understand it as may be different to what I expect, and I encourage that. You can even say that the Ninetales is actually a human. In a way, that is true, so please, come at me with all you've got!


End file.
